Spellbound
by Karin Ochibi-chan
Summary: AU They lived in the shadows away from society's prying eyes. It was only the three of them to which she never minded. However, young Gwendolyn will soon encounter the one person who causes her to question everything involving her life and cold heart B/G.
1. Prologue

Karin: Okay, this idea will not leave me alone no matter what so I'm putting it out

**Karin: Okay, this idea will not leave me alone no matter what so I'm putting it out. **

**Title: **Spellbound

**Rating: **Possibly teen

**Pairings: **Ben/Gwen

**Genres: **Supernatural/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Summary: **AU They lived in the shadows far away from the prying eyes of humans. It was just the three of them and that was all she ever knew. But young Gwendolyn finds herself taking interest in a human boy that was never supposed to meet her. Will the emotionless child find herself falling in love with a mere human?

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. Just like I don't own an orange soda fountain.

* * *

**Spellbound**

**Prologue: **

**They do exist**

**-**

**-**

**-**

_Beasts in human form…who drink the blood of living humans… _

The breeze passed by her lightly as she walked along the sidewalk humming to herself. There was a bounce in her step and a giddy smile on her face. She was walking home from a wild party at her friend's house. It was late in the evening and her parents would probably kill her for being so late, but who cares! She just had the greatest night of her teenage life!

She twirled around under the street lamp and giggled. Tonight was special for she had her first kiss with her crush of all time—Richard Folchart. It was so magical! And the alcohol induced state she was in did nothing to effect her fantasy and opinion of the teenage boy.

As the young girl was engrossed in her fantasy, quiet steps approached her with her back facing them. They crept silently cautious that she didn't see them until they were close enough. Their posture was calm and collected while their eyes held a barbaric quality to them: hunger.

It wasn't until their steps stopped right outside the street lamp's range did the tipsy pretty young woman turned to see she had company.

"Hello…there…" she drawled out giggling. A drunken flush was across her cheeks making the newcomer's instincts go haywire. Their instincts screamed to act now but they quieted the screaming down. It wasn't fun if they just got it over with without struggle.

"Hello" they replied grinning insanely.

_They do exist. You just don't know they're there…_

However, the young woman did not seem to notice the insane grin or the hunger filled eyes. He—she was sure it was a male—was too far into the shadows to see such detail of him. He was young, possibly eleven or close to twelve.

"What can I _hic _help you with?" she asked smiling goofily.

"It seems I'm a little lost" the male didn't miss a beat. He was smooth and played innocent. But that would all change soon, a little voice in his mind cackled. "Could you perhaps help me?"

If only she was not consumed by alcohol. If only she wasn't as dumb as to journey home so deep into the night. If only she saw through the little male's act.

But she did not, and that would be her downfall for sure.

"Sure" she hiccupped. He then turned and began walking in the opposite direction with her stumbling behind. She squinted to get a better look at the younger boy but could only make out that his hair was near his shoulders in a raven color. He wore mostly dark colors and had pale skin.

As they walked along, dark eyes flickered to the alleyway were he resided. A quirk of his lips occurred when he was positive he had reached his destination. The hunger in his eyes so clear, they were glowing with blood lust. A bright crimson that would have frightened her off if she had seen.

If only she had seen….

"Hey _hic _where are we?" she asked out with a raised eyebrow. They were currently walking through an alleyway towards an old subway station. The place has been abandoned for decades. No one dared go there anymore.

He didn't reply, but a smirk uplifted his features. His now red eyes glowing in the night as he came to a stop when they were standing in front of the stairway leading down to the subway station. Chains and do not enter signs were present all around it along with a few danger signs here and there. After all, the place was considered hazardous due to the weak support and possibility of injury.

"Home" he murmured.

Before the young woman could even utter a word, a searing pain came from the junction between her neck and shoulder occurred. Her eyes were open in both shock and pain. For a few seconds she was still before she began to struggle having come to her sense that she was being attacked.

The young boy snorted as if he wasn't affected at all by the fact that a woman was being impaled by someone right in front of him. His glowing red eyes narrowed as he looked into identical glowing red eyes.

"Couldn't you at least wait until I had a taste? I was the one who brought the food, you know?" he said with a hint of anger.

The newcomer's lips departed from the young woman's neck. Her struggles fruitless against the newcomer it seemed as the newcomer bestowed a look of boredom to the male.

"Hmph, well I haven't had anything to eat since a couple of days ago. Can't blame me for pouncing as soon as I get the chance" the newcomer's velvety voice replied. The glowing in her eyes subsiding changing back to her normal magenta. Her long silky silver locks cascading down past her waist in a low ponytail. Her skin was a tanish shade while she wore strange robes of some kind the colors of raspberry and purple. She looked to be the age of fourteen or fifteen.

"Pssh, that's code for being greedy" the male told her while crossing his arms. To this the enchanting woman sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Very well, have your share too" she pushed the girl roughly towards her companion who only grinned insanely. He licked his lips as the girl quivered. She desperately tried to get away, to scream, but no one would hear her; no one would help her.

It was just then that her eyes caught sight of someone sitting on the crates. She was young, perhaps at the age of ten sitting unmoving while reading a paperback novel. Her emerald eyes stared at the pages with an emotionless expression on their features as her vibrant, short, orange hair covered part of her face from view. She wore a school uniform of some kind meaning that she was a student from some academy or something (A/n: the

uniform is the one that Yuki Nagato wears from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).

Hope swirled within the drunken girl as the male drank out her blood. She reached her slowly turning pale hand out to the young girl. A strangled cry escaped her lips trying to get her attention. Her arms shook as it reached out to her.

The silver haired beauty noticed this act of desperation, though. Her lips quirked into a sadistic smirk as she realized what their meal was trying to do.

"Nn, _Gwendolyn_, aren't you hungry?" the silver beauty asked the girl who was reading. "After all, you haven't eaten since yesterday" she reminded her.

It was then that the book was snapped shut. The child placed in on the crates then proceeded off her perch. She walked calmly towards the young girl who was terrified beyond belief. A blank expression clear on the child's features.

"P-please" the teenager beseeched the child, "d-don't" she pleaded.

_They are… _

Her reply was a glitter of two pointy canines before her world went black forever.

…_vampires. _

* * *

**Karin: Okay, there's the prologue to my vampire story. Later on, I'm planning on putting out a vampire story where Ben's the vampire. I think that would be adorable. **

**See ya next time and please leave a review. **


	2. First Night

Spellbound

**Karin: Hiya! So glad that people actually like this story so far. I thought it wouldn't appeal to anyone. Oh well, good thing I was wrong. **

**Title: **Spellbound

**Rating: **Teen

**Pairing: **Ben/Gwen

**Genres: **Supernatural/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Summary:** AU They lived in the shadows far away from the prying eyes of humans. It was just the three of them and that was all she ever knew. But young Gwendolyn finds herself taking interest in a human boy that was never supposed to meet her. Will the emotionless child find herself falling in love with a mere human?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ben10. Not even in my dreams have I ever owned Ben10 (sobs in a corner)

**Replies to Reviews from Prologue:**

**Lar lindor- **Congrats on being this story's first reviewer! Yes, I am aware vampires are often used in fanfiction, but I guess they're just that awesome. However, I refuse to make this story like any other vampire story. Especially not like Twilight; definitely not like Twilight (shudders). I just can't take those vampires seriously since they _sparkle_. I also can't stand the fact that they are practically invincible. I don't _hate_ Twilight, but I can't stand the mary-sueishness.

**Mappadouji- **Well, I don't plan to put aliens in this story, but I'm not going to make Ben completely defenseless either. You'll just have to see what I'm going on about as you keep reading (grins).

**Baku babe- **You're right! Though I guess I made it obvious, huh? (laughs) Thank you so much for reviewing my story. I hope you continue to enjoy yourself as it continues. Oh, and thanks for letting me join the army. I give you a muffin!

**Un named- **Well, I am planning on updating that one soon. Sorry for the total desertion at a cliff hanger. But like I just stated, I will not abandon that story and I plan to definitely update before the end of the year. I just don't know when I'll have time since I have high school and stuff (grumbles about stupid schoolwork and driving). Please continue to be patient with me. I apologize for not updating in so long.

* * *

**Spellbound**

**First Night: **

**Departing for the Summer**

**-**

**-**

**-**

"So, the option of summer school is open for anyone" the school teacher said to her restless students. The effects of the last day of school absorbed into their energized systems. Who would be calm when summer vacation was only a minute away?

"Pssh, as if anyone would want to be here even when it isn't summer" a voice muttered to himself grudgingly as amber-green eyes drifted for possibly the millionth time to the ticking clock on the wall. The drumming of his fingers sped up as the small ticking hand came closer and closer to the twelve. The little hand was already on the three. "Come on, come on" he whispered urgently.

And just like that, the shrill shout of the bell signaled the end of another school year. The brunette boy cheered and quickly moved to the door.

"See ya suckers" he snickered to himself at the doorway. A cough of disapproval stopped him in his tracks.

"Ben" the teacher said sternly. She then held up a paper airplane that he had—inconspicuously—thrown at her only a few minutes earlier. The boy in question slumped his shoulders and glared exasperatedly. He then proceeded sluggishly back to his teacher where he would endure a painfully long lecture.

**--**

"Alright since it's the last day of school, we can't take your lunch money AND beat you up at the same time" a ten-year-old boy said smirking down at the fallen boy he and his friend pushed to the ground. "So we'll just beat you up instead" he told the boy grinning.

The boy cowered and tried to persuade his two bullies to leave him be. However, neither of them seemed to have fell into his pleas.

"Hey!" a new voice said. The three boys turned to see a brunette boy with amber-green eyes. He wore a white and black t-shirt and green cargo pants with sneakers. "Leave him alone!"

"Who says?" the leader of the two bullies asked.

"Says me" the boy replied.

Perhaps being straightforward wasn't the best approach…

**--**

"Nice going" the boy grumbled out to the brunette as they both hung from the tree branch by their underwear. It seems that the punishment for disobeying the two bullies was a wedgies hanging.

"I was just trying to help" the other boy replied with a huff and cross of his arms.

"Well next time, don't play the hero unless you can actually back it up!" the other boy retorted.

Just then, a somewhat beaten down RV drove up the road and stopped when they caught sight of just who was in the tree. An old man with a red Hawaiian shirt looked out the passenger window of the RV with a raised eyebrow.

"Ben, what are you doing hanging around like that? You were supposed to be at your house for me to pick you up" the old man said to him clearly not getting the fact that the young boy was forced up the tree against his will. Kids these days…

A smile uplifted the brunette's features as he saw who it was. This was what he was excited for more than anything. Ever since Christmas, he's been impatiently waiting for this summer trip.

"Grandpa!" exclaimed the ten-year-old. He quickly detangled himself from the branch forgetting about his companion and plopped onto the ground. The brunette then bolted inside the old RV leaving the boy to hang by his underwear.

**--**

"It seems you're excited" his grandfather stated with a chuckle. The energetic boy just nodded his head and buckled himself up in the passenger seat.

"Of course!" the boy replied. "Man, I can't wait when we get on the road! School's been so boring!" the boy complained as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Okay, calm down, Ben" his grandfather let out another chuckle as he drove. Honestly, his grandson was so vigorous. Ah, the joys of youth.

Benjamin—Ben—Tennyson only grinned and switched on the radio for some music. He then laid back against the seat and looked out at the passing images as they were leaving Bellwood. His grandfather, Max Tennyson, was taking the boy away for the summer on a cross country trip thinking that his grandson would like to travel instead of sticking around and doing nothing for the summer. His parents naturally agreed seeing that it would be a good experience for his son and Ben of course had no objections. He loved spending time with his grandfather. The old man was very entertaining and active despite his age.

The song ended and the radio spokesman began talking. Ben was about to change the channel not wanting to listen to adults babbling, but Grandpa Max stopped him as it was talking about something important.

"And in other news, another body was found this time near the Hudson River—a teenage girl instead. Police have confirmed that she has the same cause of death as the other victim found a month ago, but no clues have yet to be found linking them to the killer" a man's voice said.

"This seems to be one slippery criminal Vic. New York City better not be having people roam around at night or someone else could be next" the other reporter said.

"I agree. Not to mention that the cause of death itself isn't a pleasant one. Police refuse to disclose what the actual cause of death was, but from the secrecy, the police have no idea how or why people are being killed like that"

"Must be a real sadist"

Grandpa Max then turned off the radio with a sigh. Ben looked up at him curiously.

"Not another one" he muttered to himself, but his grandson heard him.

"What murders?" Ben inquired.

"It's nothing you need to worry about" Grandpa Max told him. "Still, I think we should skip New York City and go straight up to Maine" he told Ben. On the other hand, Ben looked horrified.

"But Grandpa! They're selling special edition Sumo Slammer games in New York starting tomorrow! I have to get one!" Ben protested.

"I'm sure you can wait until it comes out in Bellwood" Grandpa Max tried to sway him.

"But that will be in another six months!" Ben said in terror. He did _not_ want to wait for another six months when kids in New York already have the game.

"You can wait" his grandfather told him. Ben just gaped at him for a few seconds before resulting to plan B: begging.

"Please, _please_ grandpa! I'll behave and even wash the dishes a week!" he pleaded to the old man as he clasped his hands together.

"A week?" his grandpa asked amused. If laziness was a sport, Ben would be an Olympic champion at it.

"Fine! Two weeks! Come on grandpa! _Please_?" Ben beseeched him. Grandpa Max was silent as he drove the RV. His mind thinking over the decision.

"Well…" the old man finally let out. "Only if you behave yourself and don't go running off, you hear?" Grandpa Max asked Ben.

"YES!" Ben cheered out.

"And you have to wash the dishes for _three_ weeks" his grandfather told him. Ben just nodded too absorbed in getting his new game to actually blanch at the idea of _cleaning_.

And somewhere in the underground abandoned subways of New York City, a ten-year-old girl slept soundly on her pile of blankets with her paperback novel beside her.

**--**

_It was foggy and the air was moist, he noticed. He trudged through the green grass not even realizing that his shuffling wasn't making a sound. Not even wind was heard on his ears. _

_His amber-green eyes searched around, trying to figure out where he was. _

"_Hello?" he called out, his voice making an echoing sound. "Hello?" he called louder. Nothing answered him. Not even a little sound. _

_He continued walking not really knowing where he was going. It was then that he looked around and he noticed some strange tall stones standing around in a circular fashion. The other side of the stone circle seemed to be a mesh of broken stones with some other broken stones in the middle possibly big enough for someone to sit on. _

_As he came closer to the middle of the stone formation. He noticed someone sitting on one of the stones with their head slightly bowed and their back facing him. He didn't know why, but he ran quickly towards the source of life until he was a foot away from them. _

"_Hey" he greeted warily. "Do you know where we are?" he asked her-having seeing that he was talking to a girl. _

_As for her, she didn't seem to notice him at all. She didn't make any movement indicating she noticed him let alone turn around to look at him. A small sound of flickering paper caught Ben's ears signifying the turn of a page. _

_This caused Ben to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. Was she _reading_? The mere thought of reading made him shudder. Hey, what kid in their right mind would _want_ to read? _

_He placed his hand on her shoulder and then proceeded to turn her around to face him… _

"Gah!" Ben exclaimed as he crashed down onto the floor of the RV from his top bunk. He winced as he rubbed the spot of pain from where he landed on. A snoring sound caught his ears signaling that his grandfather was not woken from the abrupt fall. No surprise considering Ben was sure the man could sleep through a bomb siege.

His amber-green eyes looked out the window of the RV to see the bright full moon hanging peacefully in the sky. He then drifted his eyes towards the digital clock and it read 1:07 am.

_Great, _thought the brunette sarcastically. Ben got up from the floor and proceeded to climb back into bed. His mind drifting to his strange dream. He couldn't remember much for his mind was too foggy and disoriented. Not the lonely sensation. Not the stone formations. Not the green grass. All of that was lost and forgotten to his mind.

But he did remember that someone was there. His mind refused to comply and show him exactly who it was, but he knew someone was there.

And with that thought, Ben Tennyson drifted off to sleep with the sound of a page turning echoing in his head.

**--**

Under the streets of New York City in the old subway station, a lone child sat on top of a crate reading a paperback novel with a blank expression on her features. The sound of a page turning echoed in the hallow sanctum.

**--**

_I'll also show you a sweet dream next night…_

* * *

**Karin: Just so you know, that line does not belong to me. It belongs to the Vampire Knight anime. For some reason I just thought it would be nice to put there. Maybe it was because I was picturing the "Still Doll" vampire knight ending to play after the ending of the chapter like a real episode or something. It seemed awesome to me anyway. It's a good song and I think it suits the story a little. **

**So, I hope you enjoyed it. There's more to come! Next Chapter Ben meets Gwen! Squee! **

**See ya next time! **


	3. Second Night

Spellbound

**Karin: Bored out of my mind right now so I'm updating. Besides, I really wanted to type up this chapter. Enjoy**

**Title: **Spellbound

**Rating: **Teen

**Pairing: **Ben/Gwen

**Genres: **Supernatural/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Summary: **AU They lived in the shadows far away from the prying eyes of humans. It was just the three of them and that was all she ever knew. But young Gwendolyn finds herself taking interest in a human boy that was never supposed to meet her. Will the emotionless child find herself falling in love with a mere human?

**Disclaimer: **Okay, repeat after me: "Karin-chan does not own Ben10"

**Replies to Reviews from First Night: **

**Lar lindor- **Thank you, Lar-chan—can I call you that?—I also read your story and left a review. I think it's very good. I hope you continue it so I can read more (gives puppy dog eyes).

* * *

**Spellbound**

**Second Night: **

**Dark Alley**

**-**

**-**

**-**

The sun beat down upon New York City like an incubator. Its inhabitants walked along the sidewalks and across the streets. Cars drove towards their destination. New York City was a place of constant motion and life.

A flash of irritation entered emerald eyes before they were back onto their book. She couldn't sleep—despite her tiredness from the fact that it was daytime—so she decided to tire herself out by sitting in the sun in her alleyway that lead to the subway where she and her two companions lived in this labyrinth known as New York City.

However, even if the constant fatigue and sleepiness she received from being out in the daytime was helping, the crankiness and the migraines were not. She supposed that if she was willingly sitting in the sun, she would get bombarded with basically all the side effects of being in the open daylight. Plus the fact that she didn't feed last night only even made her more exhausted.

Well, she had lived for a very long time with this knowledge, but it still was a pain to endure. Still, it wasn't like the side effects disabled her to walk around in the daytime. In fact, she could travel among humans as long as she recently fed. If she had gone long without feeding and walked around all the time in the sun, eventually all her strength would be sapped and she would pass out from exhaustion right then and there. She couldn't really risk exposure by doing something as stupid as getting sent to the hospital of course.

She turned the page of her book. Her expression never changing.

The reason for her trouble of sleeping was because of a strange dream she had yesterday. All she remembered was reading her book in a foggy atmosphere. It didn't really bother her—nothing really did these days—but there was something really strange about this dream.

She wasn't alone. There was someone there with her.

At first, she only felt a feeling of not being the only one there, but she only dismissed it turning a page in her novel. Nonetheless, the feeling didn't go away. It felt like there was a presence behind her the whole time.

And that's when she felt it. Someone touched her shoulder. The sudden contract made her wake up from surprise. Luckily her other companions weren't wakened by her movement.

What was worse was the fact that she couldn't get to sleep since that dream. Normally it took a lot to irritate her, but the effects of the sun and lack of sleep made her narrow her eyes at the concept of not being able to sleep.

She then turned another page of her book in silence. Her demeanor soothing itself somewhat. She relaxed as she felt the crankiness tone down to replace it with sleepiness. Her eyes then continued to read the words of long since passed that she enjoyed.

Oh well, at least she could catch up on her reading.

**--**

Ben Tennyson looked around in wonderment at the huge city before him. His amber-green eyes wide with awe as he gazed upon the many people and features of New York City.

Grandpa Max stood beside him smiling up at the tall buildings.

"Ah, New York. Hasn't changed a bit" he said to his grandson.

"You've been here, grandpa?" Ben asked shocked.

"Of course, New York has some great art museums" Grandpa Max told him.

"Museums? Blah!" Ben stuck his tongue out at the thought of something educational. "Can we go to the video game store now?" he asked eagerly.

"Hold your horses, Ben" Grandpa Max told him. He ruffled the boy's already messy locks as he said, "Why don't we have something to eat first?" he suggested. Ben nodded reluctantly but his stomach's growling and the joy of not having his grandfather's weird concoctions he calls food made him want to eat as well.

The two of them then proceeded towards a restaurant for some burgers.

**--**

Ben and Grandpa Max walked along the sidewalk avoiding collision with other people. It was twenty-four passed one o'clock and the two Tennysons have finished their lunch deciding now to go to get Ben's video game.

They were currently in time square and walking along. Suddenly, someone pushed passed Ben roughly—"Hey!" Ben said angrily—running straight into a nearby alleyway. A scream sounded behind them. Some people turned to see what the commotion was about to only see an old woman in frantic hysterics.

"That man just stole my purse!" she exclaimed in horror.

Ben glared in the direction where the purse snatcher ran off. He darted towards the alleyway when his grandfather wasn't looking too busy trying to calm the woman down. His sneakers pounded against the payment as he ran through the dozens of hundreds of the alleyway maze.

**--**

Ben looked around searching for the creep. However, his hourly search was not going too well. It seemed that the labyrinth of alleyways had allowed the burglar to get away with the woman's purse without much of a fuss.

And to top it all off, he was lost.

Ben ran a hair through his messy brown hair in frustration. How was he supposed to get out of here? Everything looked the same from where he was standing. Jeez, why did New York have to make every one of their alleys look the same anyway? It was just easier for criminals to get away.

"Maybe I should go right" he muttered to himself. He proceeded to go in that direction with indecision. It seemed like every time he took a step forward, he was pushed three steps back.

It was another half-hour before Ben threw his arms up in frustration. He plopped himself on a crate with a snare and placed his chin in his hands. His amber-green eyes glaring at the wall across from him.

He was getting nowhere with this! He was pretty sure that he was in the alleyways deeper from when he was thirty minutes ago. It was getting ridiculous! Well, he guessed he could kiss that Sumo Slammers game good-bye now. There was no way that Grandpa Max would let him get it after this little stunt.

"I'm going to die here" he groaned out in misery. His hopelessness consumed his demeanor like a gray cloud blocking the bright sun.

It was just then that a sound reached Ben's ears in the silent abandoned alleyways. A flickering of paper filled his ears. Like the sound of turning a page…

Ben snapped his head over to where the sound came from. He was shocked beyond belief as he saw someone sitting on a crate just a few feet away from him.

It was a girl—his age too. She had short vibrant orange hair and slightly pale skin. Her head was bowed slightly indicating she was reading. She appeared to be wearing some kind of school uniform too. Something from a private school apparently.

Ben sprung up from the crate he was sitting on and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Indeed, there was a girl there with her back facing him. How come he didn't notice her there?

Deciding that now wasn't the time to ponder on those things, Ben walked up to the girl. A strange sense of déjà vu hit him but he ignored it. It wasn't until he was a foot from her did he attempt to make his presence known.

"Hey there" he said uneasily. She didn't make a move indicating she heard him. Perhaps too absorbed in her book to care. "Hello" he tried a little louder this time.

Still, she didn't move nor did she answer. Ben glared and reached out to touch her shoulder. Once he had a grip on it, he turned her slightly to meet his gaze. Her eyes flickered from her book to meet whoever had disturbed her.

Emerald met amber-green.

The connection lasted for about three seconds before drifting back to her book with a blank expression. She didn't appear to be mad at him yet it seemed she deemed him unimportant of her time.

"I need help" he told her. "I'm lost and I don't know how to get back to… what was it called again… time square, I think" Ben said as he wasn't really sure where he was before entering the alleyways. In his defense, he was too preoccupied with thinking of Sumo Slammers and the very tall buildings of New York City than remembering the name of the place he and his grandfather were walking through.

At first he thought he might need to repeat himself in order for her to pay attention to him, however, she hopped off the crate while still reading her book and proceeded to walk down to the entrance of her alleyway. He was about to yell at her for ignoring him, but she stopped when she was at the entrance. She didn't look back at him, but the fact that she was just standing there gave him enough hint.

She was waiting for him to follow her.

Raising an eyebrow at her peculiar behavior, he went to join her at her right side and then she began walking again. Her eyes never strayed away from her book the whole time. Ben had to wonder how she could walk so surely while reading a book.

**--**

She didn't talk. It was him who did all the talking. Ben was never one for silence. Besides, all she was doing was reading her book. She wasn't even _attempting_ to make a conversation. He never met a kid that preferred to read instead of talk. She was weird, that was the only conclusion he could come up with.

He told her about his grandfather, how much he hated school, his parents' weird quirks, the two bullies Cash and JT, his favorite comic/video game Sumo Slammers, how he had gotten lost in the first place—anything basically. He didn't think she was listening since she didn't look at him once for she was too absorbed in her book, but he had gotten used to her blank expression and reading fetish. He supposed that he should even be grateful the girl had even decided to lead him back.

_She must've lived here her whole life,_ Ben thought to himself. The fact that she was walking around the alleyways as if she knew it like the back of her hand proved it. As she walked, she never _once_ looked up from that book! He should know; he was looking at her the entire time to see if she would ever look up from the written text. No such luck.

What was so good about books anyway? He never even seen his parents absorbed in a book as much as she was. And they were _huge_ book-a-holics! He was about to ask her why she seemed to like books so much when she had stopped and snapped her book shut looking straight ahead.

Ben only stared at her in astonishment before realizing what she was looking at. In front of them, was time square with people bustling around too engrossed in their own affairs to notice two children coming out of an alleyway. He took a long look at time square before turning his head to look at her.

"Uh…thanks, I guess" he said in awe with eyes in surprise. She simply nodded not looking at him. It was then that he was realized something. He bowed his head in hopelessness and said "Oh man, I never got that lady's purse back"

The girl just continued to stand in the shadows beside him. She stared at the people in the sunlight for a moment.

"You should get back to your grandfather" her monotone voice caused him to snap his head in her direction in disbelief. Her emerald eyes flickered to him and continued, "You just ran off like that, he's probably worried about you"

Ben could only gape at her. She was actually listening to him the whole time?!

"You can talk?" he asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Of course I can" she replied monotonously. Her blank expression was still present on her face.

"Then why didn't you?" he exclaimed.

"Because I didn't have anything to say" she told him simply.

"BEN!" a new voice yelled out. A familiar voice, Ben realized. He looked away from his companion to see his grandfather running towards him. "Where have you been?!" he asked Ben sternly.

"I went after that guy who stole that lady's purse and got lost. But this girl helped me out" Ben said and jabbed a thumb at his left side. Grandpa Max just simply raised an eyebrow.

"What girl? There's no girl here" he told him. Ben looked at to where the strange girl was just standing and saw that there was no one there.

"But she was just there! I swear!" Ben exclaimed with wide eyes. He frantically looked around for any sight of an orange haired girl reading a book, but found none.

Grandpa Max just crossed his arms and glared at his grandson disapprovingly.

"Well Benjamin Tennyson, girl or no girl, you broke your promise. No Sumo Slammer game" he told Ben. "And as punishment, you still have to do the dishes for three weeks"

"What? No wait grandpa! Come on!"

**--**

The young girl walked down the stairs entering the abandoned and wrecked subway platform. The sun has set which means her two housemates would be awake by now. And sure enough, there they were both awake and waiting for her to return.

The silver haired beauty smirked when she saw her. Her magenta eyes sparkled in delight.

"Where were you all day? You missed a random day snack" she said. The boy nodded and grinned.

"What an idiot! The guy just ran in here thinking he'd be safe from whatever was chasing him only to wake us up! He wasn't really tasty, but a meal's a meal, right?" he shrugged.

"Oh hush, Kevin. At least we got something special" the fourteen year old told him smirking. She tossed a purse up and down in her hand. "He was carrying this with him. Must've been a purse snatcher" the silver haired beauty shrugged.

"So where were you? I'm usually the one with insomnia issues. Too busy thinking about blood" the boy, Kevin, muttered the last part to himself.

"You weren't sitting on your crate outside either" the older female told her. "That's where you usually are if you can't sleep. Did you do something interesting today, Gwendolyn?" the girl asked her with an eyebrow raised. The fact that the child would go wandering around during the daytime was rare in itself. It was usually around sunset or nighttime when she would go for a walk.

The child, Gwendolyn, simply caught the purse before it was placed back in the silver haired female's hand. Her expressionless face simply stared at her as she held the purse nonchalantly.

A flash of a boy with messy brown hair and amber-green eyes flashed into her head before she closed her eyes and replied.

"Not really" she monotonously said.

**--**

An old woman walked to her apartment with a sullen face. No one was able to return her purse to her. She was exhausted from hysterically searching for it. The street lights were on now and the sky was dark signifying nighttime.

It was then that she heard steps behind her. She turned swiftly around only to see a girl in a school uniform standing before her. Her emerald eyes boring into her as she held out an item to her—her purse! It was her purse!

"Oh!" she gazed at the young girl gratefully. "I really appreciate it" she said to the girl.

"Don't thank me" the girl spoke to her. "It was the boy—he was the one who got it for you" she said to her.

"Boy?" the old woman asked. Suddenly she recalled a ten year old boy and his grandfather earlier. The boy apologized for not being able to get her purse back. Yes, now she remembers. The boy and his handsome grandfather who had calmed down her hysterics. "Oh yes! I know who you're talking about!" the old woman said.

Having heard that, the orange haired child nodded and walked away leaving the woman to wonder how on earth she was going to thank the young man if she saw him again.

**--**

Gwendolyn sat on a branch in Central Park reading her novel. Her back was pressed against the trunk of the tree and her legs were propped up near her chest with the book sitting in her lap. Her arms were holding the book steady to make sure it didn't fall out of her lap.

As she indulged herself in the written words, her thoughts drifted to the unusual brown haired boy she had encountered today. She wasn't lying about what she told the old woman. If the boy hadn't had told her about the purse in the first place, she wouldn't have returned it. He seemed very determined and disappointed about finding and returning the purse. Besides, it wasn't her thing to take money from others; that was her older female companion's thing.

Her mind then glided towards his words. He had said thank you to her. It's been a while since she heard those words of appreciation directed at her. Of course she remembered when they were last said and who had said them. That person was very dear to her after all. Normally she didn't care whether or not she was thanked, but she supposed this time, it felt nice to be appreciated for a bit by someone.

She turned another page in her book and continued reading. She had to be honest though, he really was unusual to her. He seemed so carefree and full of life. The comfortable atmosphere he enabled with her was something that she didn't expect from selfish humans. She supposed it was the fact he was still a child. Still ignorant and innocent before the corrupted world got their hands on him.

On the other hand, his innocent and energetic nature got her to pay attention to him. Yes, she _does _actually pay attention when she's being spoken to. Just because she's listening doesn't mean she wants to stop reading. That boy should be thankful she even bothered to talk to him at all.

Now that was something she couldn't remember the last time having: A carefree conversation. A conversation where anything could be discussed and nothing really important mattered. Her two housemates' conversations weren't what she called innocently carefree if you knew what she meant. Another page was turned and she resumed her reading; her thoughts dying away as she became engrossed in the enchanting text.

So yes, something interesting did happen to her today she supposed.

**--**

_I'll also show you a sweet dream next night… _

* * *

**Karin: Okay, there you have it. Ben met Gwen! Hehehe, wonder if Max knows he has an admirer? **

**Moving on, I will explain on what you learned about the vampires in this story so far in case you're lost: yes, they can go in sunlight. However, if they are in the sunlight, they become fatigued, tired/sleepy, somewhat cranky, and can have major headaches. If the vampires haven't fed for a while and stand in the sunlight, the sunlight saps all the energy they have and they pass out from exhaustion. If the vampires are in the shade, they're not effected as much as they would be if they were standing in direct sunlight, but they still are effected due to the fact that it still is their bedtime—they sleep during the day. **

**When a vampire's eyes glow red, it means they are lusting for blood and most likely haven't been feeding in a while. The glowing red eyes signify their bloodlust. If their eyes are glowing red, do NOT go near them for they are too hungry to control their urges and will most likely bite/attack you in order to satisfy their hunger. A vampire can even kill in this state of insanity if the bloodlust is that great. It depends on how long they have gone without feeding on someone. The state of bloodlust causes vampires to lose themselves at times losing all thinking ability and act purely on instinct. **

**So anyway, hope you enjoyed that chapter. Please leave a review. **

**See ya next time! **


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